A vehicle control device includes a space estimation unit that, in a case where it is recognized that a travel position of a host vehicle is inside a railroad crossing, which is a stop prohibited area, and it is recognized that a side road vehicle intends to enter in front of the host vehicle, on the assumption that the side road vehicle has entered in front of the host vehicle, estimates whether a space enough for the host vehicle is formed between the side road vehicle and the stop prohibited area, and a vehicle controller that, if it is estimated that the space is not formed, causes the host vehicle to perform entry prevention action to prevent the side road vehicle from entering in front of the host vehicle.
Legal claims defining the scope of protection, as filed with the USPTO.
1. A vehicle control device configured to perform driving control of a host vehicle, comprising one or more processors, a storage device, and a vehicle controller, the storage device storing programs to cause the processor to: recognize an external environment state around the host vehicle based on information output from an external environment sensor including a camera; recognize a travel position of the host vehicle; in a case where the one or more processors recognize that the travel position of the host vehicle is in a stop prohibited area and that another vehicle on a side road adjacent to the stop prohibited area and intersecting a road on which the host vehicle is traveling intends to enter in front of the host vehicle, on an assumption that the other vehicle has entered in front of the host vehicle, estimate whether an entry space enough for the host vehicle is formed between the other vehicle and the stop prohibited area using an entire length of the other vehicle determined based on image information acquired by the camera; and the vehicle controller, if the one or more processors estimate that the entry space is not formed, causes the host vehicle to perform entry prevention action to prevent the other vehicle from entering in front of the host vehicle.
2. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the vehicle controller is configured to notify the other vehicle of presence of the host vehicle, as the entry prevention action.
3. The vehicle control device according to claim 2 , wherein the vehicle controller is configured to operate a sound output device as the entry prevention action to notify the other vehicle of the presence of the host vehicle.
4. The vehicle control device according to claim 3 , wherein the sound output device is a horn device.
5. The vehicle control device according to claim 2 , wherein the vehicle controller is configured to cause a headlight to blink as the entry prevention action to notify the other vehicle of the presence of the host vehicle.
6. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the storage device stores programs to cause the processors to: determine a travel status of the host vehicle and set action to be taken by the host vehicle, and in a case where the one or more processors estimate that the entry space is not formed, change the entry prevention action to be taken by the host vehicle so that the host vehicle moves outside the stop prohibited area more quickly than in the entry prevention action to be taken by the host vehicle that is set before entry of the host vehicle into the stop prohibited area.
7. The vehicle control device according to claim 6 , wherein the vehicle controller is configured to, as the entry prevention action, accelerate the host vehicle by controlling a driving force output device, based on the entry prevention action that has been changed.
8. The vehicle control device according to claim 1 , wherein the stop prohibited area is a railroad crossing.
Cooperative Patent Classification codes for this invention. Click any code to explore related patents in that topic.
October 22, 2018
March 16, 2021
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